Canadian Pacific Railway Inc (CP)

[frenchee]

Canadian Pacific shares soar on takeover talk
4:48p ET July 18, 2007 (MarketWatch)
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Shares of Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. hit an all-time high Wednesday, rocketing nearly 15% on media reports the company is the target of a takeover bid.

The Toronto Stock Exchange briefly halted trading of Canadian Pacific and requested the Calgary-based railroad say something to either quell speculation or confirm the reports.

What it got was confirmation that the railroad had been approached earlier this year by Toronto-based Brookfield Asset Management Inc. in a "highly conditional inquiry" seeking exclusive negotiations and a peek at CP's books.

"CP's Board of Directors considered the inquiry to be inadequate after due deliberation and declined to enter into discussions," the company said in its statement.

It then added: "While CP continues to receive such inquiries, it is not at this time in negotiations with any party with respect to a business combination. No assurance can be given that such negotiations might be entered into or that, if entered into, any transaction would result."

The company declined further comment.

Following the statement and the resumption of trade, Canadian Pacific's U.S.-traded shares backed off a session high of $90.15 but still wrapped up the day with a 14.9% advance to $85.

Reports that CP was mulling a takeover offer surfaced in Toronto's Globe and Mail.

Citing sources familiar with the matter, the Globe and Mail said Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and pension fund manager Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec had joined forces with Brookfield in the initial talks and that the three had not yet put aside a possible buyout effort, though they were not inclined to launch a hostile takeover battle.

Brookfield declined to comment on the report.

Any potential buyer of Canadian Pacific would have to pony up enough to offer a premium to its current $13.1 billion market capitalization. It would also have to figure out a way to placate Canadian and U.S. regulators.

The railroad's vast transportation network includes 9,300 miles of track, of which about 1,500 miles serve freight markets in the Midwest and Northeast U.S., including Chicago, Minneapolis and New York.

The 126-year-old transcontinental Canadian Pacific Railway is Canada's second-largest railroad after Canadian National Railway .